‘Trainspotting’ director confirms he will direct the next James Bond movie

Academy Award winner Danny Boyle will direct the still-untitled 25th installment of the James Bond franchise, which is set to star Daniel Craig in his final performance as the iconic secret agent.

Boyle confirmed that he will be behind the camera for Bond’s next adventure during an interview tied to his FX series Trust, and indicated that his frequent collaborator John Hodge (Trainspotting, Shallow Grave) is currently working on the script for the film.

“We are working on a script right now,” he told Metro. “And it all depends on that really. … Then Bond would [begin shooting] right at the end of the year.”

Boyle indicated that the plot of the film is rooted in an idea he and Hodge had for Agent 007. The script will likely need to be approved by James Bond studio Eon Productions before anything is official.

“We’ve got an idea, John Hodge, the screenwriter, and I have got this idea, and John is writing it at the moment,” he said. “And it all depends on how it turns out. It would be foolish of me to give any of it away.”

Boyle’s confirmation comes after a long period of speculation surrounding the 25th installment of the series that had three other filmmakers rumored for the job less than a year ago. Among the filmmakers once reported to be in the running were Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve, Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, and ’71 and White Boy Rick director Yann Demange.

That list of contenders was first reported by Deadline, and Variety later indicated that Demange was the frontrunner to take over the blockbuster franchise.

Boyle steps into some fairly big cinematic shoes with the Bond franchise. The previous two installments of the franchise — 2012’s Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre — were directed by Sam Mendes and were the highest-grossing films in the series so far. Collectively, the two films earned nearly $1 billion worldwide.

The 25th film in the James Bond franchise is currently scheduled to hit theaters November 8, 2019.

Updated on March 15: Added news that Danny Boyle will direct the film.